Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Thanks Giving

By Gabriel Broussard from the Dizzy Duke
A Piece of Cake Mysteries
by Jacklyn Brady

It’s November, and Thanksgiving is just around the corner. That means most folks in the good old US of A are thinking about what they’re thankful for. And that got me thinking about the very same thing. No doubt about it, I’ve got plenty to be grateful about. I live in the most beautiful (and interesting) city in the world. I come from a good family, have a little bit of cash set aside and I enjoy my work. Not everybody can say that. I know how lucky I am. I have good friends and plenty to eat. I may not be happy about some of what’s going on in the world, but I really can’t complain about much.

But there’s lots of folks out there who can’t say the same thing. People doing without. Parents wondering where their family’s next meal is going to come from or worrying about how to pay next month’s rent or mortgage. People living without electricity and running water because they can’t pay the bills. I’m not a cynic. I truly do believe most people are good at heart, and most of us would be happy to help out if we saw someone in need.

Trouble is, the way things are right now it’s not always so easy to tell when somebody’s struggling. We see the big disasters and we hurry to help. I’m not suggesting we stop doing that. Those people are in extreme need, and we’d be wrong to ignore it. But at the same time, maybe we’re walking right past someone who could use a hand. Not a handout, but a hand up. They’re too proud to say anything most of the time. They fight on in silence. But maybe they’re not sleeping at night for all the worry, and we don’t even notice because we’re in such a hurry. We don’t have time to look around us.

All that got me to thinking, what if we all slowed down a bit this holiday season? What if we all took a minute to look the people we interact with every day in the eye? And what if, when we spot the fear that someone is trying to hide (and we will) we do just a little something about it? That $5 in your pocket might be exactly what a mother needs to buy milk for her children. It might not seem like much to you, but to her it might just be the whole world. What if we all gave thanks this year by giving just a little to someone else?

In that spirit, I’m going to make you an offer. I’ll be in Slidell on Thanksgiving shoveling down some of mama’s Cajun stuffed crawfish bread, Uncle Buck’s deep-fried turkey, Mimi’s cornbread stuffin’ and Aunt Simone’s green bean casserole, but if you stop in at the Dizzy Duke any other day this month, drinks are on me!

2 comments:

I second that... never pass a hand outstretched, that's my motto, but what about all the folks too proud to stretch out their hand? This holiday season - and the rest of the year, too - I'm going to take your advice and try to see the need that is too proud to speak up.

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